Snow Day
by Verthril
Summary: With a polar vortex freezing much of the country, the kids at Xavier's make the most of it with a day on their favourite hill. But the fun and games come to an end as night falls, heading back late to the school to find they might not be alone out in the woods after all.


Marvel owns the X-men, no profit is to be made from this work.

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"Can't you do something about it Ororo?"

One thing about Xavier's most found out come winter was that much of it was original, oh renovations had come but much of that had happened beneath the school itself. Given the history of the estate and how long it had been in the late man's family, it seemed he hadn't seen fit to mess with it too much. Most windows had been updated over the years, insulation blown into the walls, but it still left the place rather cold and just a touch drafty during the long winters of upstate New York. Given the current meteorological event taking place across much of the American continent, it was absolutely frigid.

"I believe any meddling with a weather system as large as this one would be ill advised child." Ororo answered, bundled under a blanket as she was in the den with many students enjoying some hot chocolate.

"Weather system? They're calling it a polar vortex! New Ice Age here we come!" Kitty continued, trying her best to get Ororo to just tweak the local weather a bit warmer.

"I don't know what you guys are complaining about? So, anyone wanna go tobogganing?"

Looking to the new voice from the door, Kitty glared at Bobby dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, swim trunks and flip flops. Beside him Rogue was dressed in fur lined boots, snow pants and a matching fur collared parka. It was the time of year when her habit of dressing in layers went unnoticed, Cure or no Cure.

"Hey Bobby, I say this as kindly as I can, go jump in the lake..." Kitty growled, stomping up to the fireplace and curling up just like her feline namesake.

"Did that last year remember? Heard about this thing called the Polar Bear club. Anyone else? So far it's just me and Rogue." Bobby asked.

"Just as long as there are no more of your In Soviet Russia jokes, then I believe Illyana wishes to go, so I'll come along too." Pete said, earning a beaming smile from his younger sister.

"Promise, we'll met you outside, Rogue looks like she's about to sweat to death." Bobby said, snagging his girlfriend and rushing for the main doors.

Four strong now, the walk to the favourite hill at Xavier's took them just a bit longer than most days due to all the freshly fallen snow they were looking to enjoy. One good tradition the school held sacred was a firm belief in snow days even if everyone was already present and accounted for.

"You're really not cold?" Illyana asked again, looking down from her piggy back ride by her broad shouldered brother.

"Nope, it's like a day at the beach for me." Bobby said, walking through the snow pushing knee deep in places looking like a complete lunatic in his summer wear.

"Yeah, and he doesn't even sweat when it's hotter than a three balled tomcat." Rogue added.

"Don't asked." Bobby and Pete alike chorused as Illyana opened her mouth.

Spotting the hill at last some time later to see it just a pristine stretch of unblemished snow running down to a white expanse of empty field, they closed the distance fast running through the deep snow, Pete towing his sister along in one of the sleds.

"Time to show everyone back huddling where it's all nice, warm and cozy just what they're missing out on." Bobby said, smiling to Rogue.

Reaching into her parka, she revealed a GoPro with a flourish, Bobby quickly attaching it to the front of the old GT Snow Racer he found in the loft of the garage. Seeing how eager Illyana looked, the trio couldn't resist her charms or enthusiasm.

"Okay, the next sounds you're gonna hear are Illyana screaming her head off down this hill." Bobby said into the camera, giving a thumbs up before pulling out of the view.

Given a push by Pete, her peals of laughter and joyous screams carried down the hill as she raced down. Waiting at the top holding their sleds in hand, the trio waved to her and motioned for her to twist the racer around to capture their own run. Holding their sleds like surfboards, they ran at the wave they were about to rip down and dove into the powder. It was as over as fast as their hearts were beating, trudging up the hill laughing and chatting among themselves looking forward to the next run.

"Okay, this time you go after us Illyana, three, two, one...go!" Bobby called.

Racing again and driving to the powder, three sleds of red, blue and black ripped down with Illyana casing them after a few seconds. Getting a little more bold this run down, Bobby looked to his love and with a flex of his power had a slight ramp appear in her path.

"You're so dead Drake!" Rogue screamed, catching air and landing with a yelp.

Laughing hard at her threat, the snowball that pelted him from behind caught him by surprise at sent him tumbling through the snow. Looking up to the pint sized hitgirl in brief snatches that weren't washed white, he caught her reaching for another from her coat pocket to nail her brother in a delightful display of marksmanship fit for the petite Russian.

"Okay, new idea for the next run." Bobby said, brushing himself off and shaking snow out of his shorts.

"If you're thinkin' what I think yer think Bobby, I got three words for ya. Oh heck naw." Rogue said even as she started packing a snowball.

"Oh c'mon, it'll be like a car chase outta a movie! Tell ya what, girls verse boys. We've already seen the little sniper she is." Bobby said, walking on up to Rogue to pull her into a hug.

"Oh fine, I'm so gonna whoop that scrawny arse of yours." Rogue hissed as she relented, returning his hug.

"Alright lets get back to the top and start making our ammunition." Bobby cheered as he lead the charge.

"No fair, you guys can load your sleds up with so many..." Illyana said with a sad sigh, looking to see tens of snowballs filling the fronts of the sleds.

"Yeah, probably not a good idea for you to load your pockets full of snow. Hmm, hey...how about we switch? I can make my own, I'll just make like I'm reaching for them so it's fair. Deal?" Bobby asked offering his hand.

Twisting her lips in thought and staring at the very plain sleds in comparison to the fun one she was riding, too many winters spent trying to get one over on her brother had taught her just how bad soggy pockets where. Taking the hand, she took the offered sled already loaded for bear.

"I think this is gonna be too epic to miss, lets figure out a tripod for the GoPro so we can catch the fight from the top." Making his suggestion, Bobby started looking around for some branches to cobble together said tripod when he found everyone staring at him. "What?"

"Yana, lets show lover boy over there how it's done." Rogue said, grabbing one of her snowballs and finding a good clear patch of fresh snow.

Catching the idea, Illyana grabbed one of her own to be followed by her brother. In short order three large snowballs were made and stacked on one another giving them a frosty cameraman.

"Now you're thinking with snowballs." Bobby chuckled, feeling stupid but finding one stick just the same for the nose.

Screaming their war cry, they ripped down the hill, girls verse boys in their own snowy death match. Pelting them rapid fire, Rogue kept them covered for Illyana to take expert shots trying to send them toppling.

"Dasvidaniya!" Pete cried, hurling an armload at them as veritable mortar fire.

Screams and shrieks sounded as snow found those unguarded places to quickly chill. Spinning out of control and tumbling the rest of the way down the hill, retribution came for the girls as they tackled Pete and started doing their best to bury him. Laughing at his friend's misfortune, Bobby stopped quickly as the three turned to another in a quick truce. With the odds three against once, he was lucky he truly wasn't bothered by the cold once they were done with him.

Sitting at the top of the hill seeing the sun already waning, the winter days cutting short their fun, they gathered their toys and started heading home. With the ropes slung over his shoulders, Pete gave the girls a break on the trek back.

"Kinda getting dark, ya sure we should be cutting through the woods." Rogue asked.

"I know these woods like the back of my hand, it's a straight run to the school, besides once a few stars come out I'll have my bearings even if it's pitch black." Bobby promised.

"This from the guy that gets lost at the mall." Rogue shot back, throwing a wink to Illyana.

"That was only -after- they renovated, how was I to know they moved the food court to the other end of it?" Defending his honour, he conjured a drift of snow to dust her with.

"Piotr? Look!" Illyana called worried, pointing off to the snow a ways off.

Leading the sleds off that way with his riders in tow, Pete looked down to find some tracks that he imagined just what she must have thought they were, yet these were no bear tracks which he knew from home. For one, the gait was all wrong and they walked more like a man...

"Don't worry Snowflake, they're not bear." Pete promised, smiling down to reassure his sister.

"Then what the heck are they?" Rogue asked, running her gloved hand over them and seeing just how huge they were.

"Uh, guys...don't they kind of look like, ya know..." Bobby asked, silently whispering the word so Illyana wouldn't see, _Yeti Tracks._

"The Yeti is from the Himalayas ya idjit!" Rogue muttered, only to look bashful as Illyana jerked her head to look at her.

"Well then Sasquatch, but don't ya think right? I mean they haven't even broken the snow, it'd take some pretty big feet to do that." Bobby offered.

Rubbing his eyes out of irritation and looking to his friends that weren't helping the situation, Pete knelt next to his sister to reassure her again despite their companions guesses.

"Someone is probably having fun, yes?" Pete asked of his sister to get a timid nod.

"Well, the usual suspect is right here with us and we've been with him all day." Rogue said, most pranks and jokes falling on her boyfriends shoulders once the burden of evidence came in.

"There you go using that logic stuff like I can't be two places in once, but yeah, this wasn't me." Bobby joked, trying to brighten the mood for the scared girl.

"I think we best get back to the school, da? It is getting dark fast and they will be expecting us." Pete said, getting back to his feet to resume the trudge back.

Finding that walk taking longer than expected through the deep snow, the light faded fast turning the woods into a place of dark silhouettes of trees and shadow that preyed on them. Time and again the ominous tracks vanished only to reappear as if stalking them, Rogue and Illyana sharing a sled so they could reassure each other with the older holding the younger.

"See, there's the tree break. Once we clear that we'll be able to see the school, then we can all have hot chocolate and toast some marshmallows and laugh this all off." Bobby said sounding wholly confident.

Picking up their pace eager to get out of the woods and back to the school so they could get unbundled and down to some relaxing by the fire, the sound of a branch snapping had them freeze. Looking to another and feeling foolish, their whispered assurances that it was nothing caught in their throat hearing it again and again.

"Anyone think to bring a flash light?" Rogue asked already knowing the answer.

"It's coming from over there..." Bobby said pointing to the woods and pulling out his camera.

Staring out into the woods as the echo of branches breaking grew closer, Pete shifted and grew in size as his skin became organic steel. Trying a new trick himself, Bobby iced up and joined his friend in standing in front of the girls. Squinting and staring out into the darkness their eyes were well used to by now, a hint of a shadow standing out from the slender trees, something not quite human but just too all too human the same.

Walking with a loping gate, the thing trudged through the snow unhindered, arms waving and hands clutching at the trees. Fur as white as snow could be seen in the dim light, a horrible moan that reminded them all too much of wails those quack crytozoologists swore they heard on those monster hunter shows. It had many names across the world, from Yeti to Sasquatch, but the one most called it was...

"Big Foot!" Illyana yelped.

"I'm gonna be famous!" Bobby cried, whirling his camera to capture the beast.

"...ain't it supposed ta be, ya know...bigger?" Rogue asked, staring critically at the thing trudging out of the woods.

All sense of terror vanished as they saw the unthinkable happen, the legendary monster topple and fall face first into the snow. Rushing up and poking it, it was indeed clad in the snowy white fur they thought they saw and the feet were very big certainly, but it was no towering monster that had filled many a campfire story.

"It kinda looks like a baby Bigfoot, maybe it's lost?" Bobby said watching as it struggled.

"It's cute." Illyana laughed completely forgetting her fear from moments before.

"Yeah...I don't think Bigfoot knows the F bomb, Yana, cover your ears. Pete, give it a hand up." Having her own ideas on just what the cryptid was now, Rogue once again wished she had a flash light on hand.

"One, two, three!" Pete called out, him and Bobby taking the tiny furry bundle by an arm each to help it back to its huge feet.

"Baby Bigfoot!" Illyana squealed staring at the furry creature as it was righted.

"That's no Bigfoot kiddo..." Rogue said, getting to her feet to confront the tiny monster.

Hearing muffled growls and heavy breathing, she did again the unthinkable against the cautions from Bobby and Pete alike that it might bite. Reaching around, she found just what she was looking for and pulled on the zipper.

"Oh my god thank you Roguey, I thought I was gonna suffocate! Didn't you guys hear me calling all this time?" Jubilee asked, tugging back the hood from her very fluffy fake fur coat.

"What the h...eck are you wearing?" Rogue asked.

"Snow suit, found it online along with these totally cool snowshoes! Fricking sweet right? I went looking for you guys earlier, everyone said ya went sledding." Jubilee explained, showing off her furry snow pants and parka and very unique snow shoes.

"That was you out in the woods? We thought you were a freaking Sasquatch!" Bobby muttered, sounding all too disappointed as he shut off his camera.

"Seriously? Aren't they like, ya know, eight feet tall?" Jubilee asked sounding utterly incredulous.

"Okay, well maybe a baby Bigfoot. Ya still had us going with those tracks, don't you know how to walk in a straight line?" Bobby asked, poking her forehead.

"You ever try walking in these things? Lemme tell ya it ain't easy." Jubilee muttered, showing off her snowshoes complete with footie feet crafted into the bottom.

"Piotr, I want one..." Illyana asked as sweetly as she could, completely enamoured by the snow wear that was completely cooler than her own.

"I can't believe you thought I was Bigfoot." Jubilee said shaking her head.

"Well, I gotta admit ya had even me goin' fer a minute." Rogue admitted.

Laughing off the scare and resuming their trudge back to the school, Bobby looked the girl now hitching a ride on the sled and peeling off her layers to cool off. Thinking of his camera and the days fun he'd caught on it, an idea started brewing.

"Anyone see you wearing this get up?" Bobby asked.

"Just Logan, but last I heard he was heading down to the bar to catch some hockey game." Jubilee answered, zipping up her jacket now that the cold air was getting to her.

"I got a box of Twinkies with your name on it if you'll help me out." Bobby said, grinning conspiratorially to the gathered.

"Throw in that stash of Ding Dongs I know you're hiding and you got a deal." Jubilee replied, offering her furry glove clad hand.

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"Okay, okay, I'm jealous. Wanna go out again tomorrow?" Kitty said, watching the video of the days fun on the flat screen in the den.

"That's not the best part, you won't believe what we caught some video of on the way back." Bobby said, toying with his laptop to bring up some new footage.

The sunny scene of the snowy hill was replaced by a dark forest with no sound. Seeing Kitty grab the remote and crank the volume on the tv, only the hiss of the speakers running at their max was heard.

"Wow, real professional Bobby, you butchered this vid. What the heck is this, you guys lost in the woods?" Kitty muttered, lowing the volume down.

"We found Big Foot!" Illyana eagerly informed, earning a polite but patronizing smile from Kitty.

"I don't think they got Big Foot down here." Kitty said softly only to get a firmly shaken head denying her.

"Well, I don't know what it was but there was something out there." Rogue muttered, curling up in her blanket and staring warily at the tv.

"Alright I'll bite, what ya got for me Drake?" Kitty asked.

Suddenly sound came back to the video in jumps and starts, broken branches and awful wails echoing through the woods. Making a show of trying to figure out just what was wrong with the sound, Bobby looked to see Kitty staring more intently at the screen as a figure emerged out of the darkness.

"Okay, that's gotta be either you or Pete..." Kitty tried to explain, but as the camera paned to show all four of them there looking scared out of their wits, Kitty looked back at them to see them all looking tense.

"Wasn't us, didn't get a good look at it really, it just ran off..." Rogue said softly from under her blanket as the video died.

"Okay, there's no way in h...eck there's a Big Foot around here." Kitty swore even as she found a blanket to curl up in.

"I dunno, what about this Polar Vortex thing? Maybe it got pushed outta it's usual habitat bein' as it's so cold..." Rogue offered.

"Believe what ya want, Big Foot ain't real." Kitty muttered.

"Big Foot!" Illyana screamed suddenly, pointing out the bay window of the den.

"Illyana, there ain't no..." Kitty started, but turning to look to just where the girl was pointing for her breath to catch in her throat in horror.

Trudging out from the forest was the very thing she'd caught glimpses of in the video, screaming her terror and ghosting out of the blanket and den completely. Trying hard not to laugh, Bobby was the first to break and that had those retreating foot steps pull an abrupt about face to storm back into the den.

"You were all in on this?!" Kitty asked utterly indignant as she pointed accusing fingers at her laughing friends.

"Yep, and look..." Bobby said toying with his laptop to bring up a new video.

Staring at herself in high definition, Kitty felt her cheeks burning out of a mix of anger and embarrassment having her reaction caught. Turning to Bobby and pointing at him, she opened her mouth with a few false starts looking for the exact right words.

"Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but when you least expect it Drake I will get my revenge. So, who the heck is that?" Kitty asked pointing out to the lawn.

"Jubilee, I better call her to let her know she's good to come in." Bobby laughed, finding his phone and hitting the speed dial for her.

Yet as his phone rang an answering ring tone was heard out in the hall, Jubilee stomping in and peeling off her snow gear and looking flushed and out of breath. Looking to the gathered, she was met with frozen faces and a mix of true terror.

"If you're in here, who the heck is..." Bobby started.

"Out on the lawn!" Rogue yelped suddenly really afraid.

"Big Foot!" Illyana screamed, taking after Kitty and bolting out of the den.

Watching the scene play out, so many of her friends running scared for their lives, Jubilee finally let the smile she'd been fighting free and headed off back outside. Seeing a figure stomping and struggling through the snow, she reached for the beer she'd nabbed knowing he'd need it.

"Thanks, so did me freezin' my nuts off for another twenty minutes do the trick?" Logan asked, cracking the cap and chugging his brew.

"Yep, like a charm." Jubilee giggled, thinking to herself helping him shovel out the school tomorrow would be totally worth one upping Bobby at his own game.

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End file.
